RIL plans cross-country pipeline grid

Oct 31, 2007 01:00 AM

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has drawn a blue print to lay a 8,700-km natural gas pipeline grid across the country
that will rival state-run GAIL India's network.
Reliance is currently laying a 1,385-km pipeline from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, the landfall point of gas it plans
to produce from its eastern offshore KG-D6 block, to Barauch in Gujarat and has approval for another 2,071-km lines.

The company has secured approvals for the 820-km Jamnagar-Bhopal pipeline, the 651-km Hyderabad-Goa line and a 600-km
Kakinada-Chennai pipeline, a company official said.
"RIL plans to build a pan-India pipeline network and connect to (GAIL's main trunk line) HBJ from eastern side to
form a national gas grid," he said. The network, which would transport natural gas produced from KG-D6 and other
blocks off the east coast as well as gas to be produced from below coal seams (CBM), would be completed in 5-7 years,
he said.

RIL plans to begin gas production from its KG-D6 block from second half of 2008 with an initial output of 40 mm cmpd
that would double in a year.
The official said the other pipelines under approval are the 600-km Chennai-Tuticorin pipeline, the 1,100-km
Kakinada-Basadbpur-Bardhaman (West Bengal) line, the 652-km Chennai-Bangalore-Mangalore/Mysore pipeline and the
1,100-km Bhopal Cuttack pipeline. Besides, the 350-km Shadol-Phulpur CBM pipeline, the 800-km Hyderabad-Nagpur-Bhopal
and the 650-km Hyderabad-Hassan pipeline are at proposal stage. The network would provide access to 300 towns and
cities for city gas distribution project.

Reliance is bringing to production two of the 18 finds it has made in KG-D6 block.
The Dhirubhai-I and 3 discoveries lie 40-60 km into the sea from Kakinada.